Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Once the weigh-in, worries, and long waits wondering where and when I'd actually compete were all taken care of. The matches were good. I'm disappointed I didn't sink the armbar I wanted or finish the choke I had, but I entered just to see how my training was going. I was vastly improved over June, and I feel good about my chances in further competition.

Thank you. It was awesome. I shook my coach John Impallomeni's hand. I thanked my other spotters later. That was amazing. 225 was a "before I die" kind of goal and now, yeah, I want to get 225 for 2. Or 230 for 1. Or ditch the belt on my earlier singles. Just as long as it's progress.

I'm still psyched. I tried to explain it to my gf but it was hard. Finally I said, "I did this (mimicking a back squat) with TWO of you on my back." :)

Notes: I hate circuits. Well, not really hate. But they sure suck. I knew this one was coming for two weeks. I told my coach in all seriousness to lie to me until the day of the circuit. I don't want to know it's coming, just surprise me with it.

Digging the yoke walks! I really believe it helped my squat as well. Stuart McGill actually did some research a while back for the NSCA on the yoke walk and other strongman man events and the impact on the core musculature. Interesting stuff.

As far as tips, keep your stance narrow (hip width) this may be tough to get used to, but your speed will improve immensly. Also, invest in knee sleeves (if you don't already). My knees tend to fall into valgus collapse when I'm fatigued by a long heavy run. This will provide a bit more stability.

Sandbag - zercher hold a sandbag with a green band around it stretching out to the rack. Step back and then clinch-crunch obliquely down. Hard to crunch this way without bending over, but if you do that the band and bag pull you down. So your abs really fire hard to keep you in this movement. 6 each side sucked the breath out of me, especially because my HR was still up from the tire.

I'm having trouble picturing this. I tried Googling it, but didn't find anything that looked close. Do you know of a video?

_________________Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Sandbag - zercher hold a sandbag with a green band around it stretching out to the rack. Step back and then clinch-crunch obliquely down. Hard to crunch this way without bending over, but if you do that the band and bag pull you down. So your abs really fire hard to keep you in this movement. 6 each side sucked the breath out of me, especially because my HR was still up from the tire.

I'm having trouble picturing this. I tried Googling it, but didn't find anything that looked close. Do you know of a video?

I'll have to make one or get my coach to film me doing it . . . I can't find one either. I know it's a Jim "Smitty" Smith creation though.

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